AquaMan2342 wrote:It will be interesting to see how various European leaders react to the Libyan situation considering that's where many of them (particularly Italy) get a lot of their oil.

The US will have that situation soon enough. It's hard to imagine that Saudi Arabia will be immune to the unrest, even though they have close to limitless funds to subsidize the poorest and most disgruntled of their citizens.

CNN wrote:"This is my country, the country of my grandfathers," Gadhafi said in remarks carried live on Libyan state television. He vowed to die "a martyr" in his country.Blaming the unrest on "rats" who are "agents" of foreign intelligence services, Gadhafi read from a book of laws and said people found to be cooperating with outside forces fomenting discord, and those who carry weapons against the country, will be executed.

This will be uglier than Egypt, no doubt....and the ramifications possibly greater. Gaddafi rules the country through a cult of personality and is pretty much a ruthless dictator. Many more people will die.

Wikipedia wrote:Oil reserves in Libya are the largest in Africa and the ninth largest in the world with 41.5 billion barrels (6.60×109 m3) as of 2007. Oil production was 1.8 million barrels per day (290×103 m3/d) as of 2006, giving Libya 63 years of reserves at current production rates if no new reserves were to be found. Libya is considered a highly attractive oil area due to its low cost of oil production (as low as $1 per barrel at some fields), and proximity to European markets.

Article wrote:Among other things, Gaddafi has ordered security services to start sabotaging oil facilities. They will start by blowing up several oil pipelines, cutting off flow to Mediterranean ports. The sabotage, according to the insider, is meant to serve as a message to Libya's rebellious tribes: It's either me or chaos.

AquaMan2342 wrote:It will be interesting to see how various European leaders react to the Libyan situation considering that's where many of them (particularly Italy) get a lot of their oil.

The US will have that situation soon enough. It's hard to imagine that Saudi Arabia will be immune to the unrest, even though they have close to limitless funds to subsidize the poorest and most disgruntled of their citizens.

Saudis don't work in the generally accepted understanding of the word. They get tons of money from the government's oil sales and a lot of their labor is imported. Without govt support and a strong ruling body I think a lot of Saudis would be unable to function in a normal working society near-term. They need to be coddled b/c that's all they've known.

The government of Col. Moammar Gadhafi hasn't destroyed significant stockpiles of mustard gas and other chemical-weapons agents, raising fears in Washington about what could happen to them—and whether they may be used—as Libya slides further into chaos.

Tripoli also maintains control of aging Scud B missiles, U.S. officials said, as well as 1,000 metric tons of uranium yellowcake and vast amounts of conventional weapons that Col. Gadhafi has channeled in the past to militants operating in countries like Sudan and Chad.